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After a weekend series victory over No. 2 Vanderbilt, Florida Gators baseball welcomed the Stetson Hatters to Florida Ballpark for a Tuesday night matchup.
The Gators took a 9-6 victory over Stetson.
Early Inning Battle
The Hatters came out swinging in the top of the first. Florida’s Timmy Manning started on the mound but had a short two inning stint. Stetson’s leadoff hitter Andrew Macneil put the Hatters on the board with a home run over the right field fence.
Three hitters later, Hernen Sardinas followed up with a homer to give Stetson a 2-0 lead.
With a mighty flash of his light saber, @herndawg_13 makes it 2-0 Hatters with his 7th HR of the year.#GoHatters #MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/Xfyjjw6SA6
— Stetson Baseball (@StetsonBaseball) May 4, 2021
The Gators took over the lead in the bottom of the second. Sterlin Thompson started things with an RBI double deep to center field. Colby Halter tied things up with a double to center field that advanced Thompson home for the run.
Halter knots it up at ✌️!
STET 2, UF 2 | B2#GoGators | Watch: https://t.co/SxwYtgooBH pic.twitter.com/lDwBxu7KRB
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 4, 2021
Jacob Young followed up with an RBI single to center field that gave Florida a 3-2 lead.
Stetson tied things up in the top of the third after loading the bases. Florida pitcher Trey Van Der Weide came in to get the Gators out of a jam. Banks Griffith hit a two-out RBI single that gave the Hatters the 3-3 tie.
Florida returned to the plate in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases themselves. Kris Armstrong flied out to left field, advancing Young home. The Gators regained the lead 4-3.
Gators Take Over in the Fifth
Josh Rivera extended the Gators lead in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single. Thompson crossed the plate to put Florida up 5-3.
Nathan Hickey kept things rolling with a two-run RBI double to center field. Jud Fabian immediately followed up with an RBI double after an error in the outfield.
Nathan Hickey plates two with a double to right center!
Gators are rolling.
STET 3, UF 7 | B5#GoGators // 🐊⚾️ pic.twitter.com/wp8ej4C0Rs
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 5, 2021
David Luethje took the mound in the top of the sixth. The right hander kept Stetson scoreless through two innings.
Stetson put a run on the board in the top of the eighth after loading the bases. Eric Foggo cut the Florida lead to 8-4.
T8 | Hatters plate a run on an @EricFoggo hit off the UF pitcher. Bases still loaded with no one out.
Hatters trail 8-4. pic.twitter.com/1LoEUfn8jQ— Stetson Baseball (@StetsonBaseball) May 5, 2021
In the bottom of the eighth, Armstrong knocked one of the right field fence to give Florida a 9-4 lead. This was Armstrong’s seventh home run of the season.
It was like deja vu in the top of the ninth, Macneil put up his second home run of the game making it a 9-5 game. Sardinas followed up with his second home run of the game a few batters later cutting the lead 9-6.
Up Next
The Gators look ahead to an SEC series with the Kentucky Wildcats. The first game is set for Thursday evening at 7 p.m.
